Redmen annihilate Villa Angela St. Joseph 40-20 August 22nd 2003 By XBellevueplayar

   Bellevue OH, The grass had been mowed, the lines drawn and the stands at BAF stadium full. That could only mean one thing in the city of Bellevue and that is its High School Football season again. The hopes of many were high though not knowing what to expect from the week 1 opponent. A division four catholic school who finished 8-4 a season ago and a preseason favorite is all that they knew. Well, it took approximately six minutes to get a taste of what the 2003 Redmen offense would look like. A strong opening drive which accounted for eleven plays and 51 yards capped by a 18 yard scoring strike from Junior quarterback Jon Journay to Junior wideout Cody Koselke with 6:00 on the clock set the tone for the Redmen offense on this night. The PAT failed and the Redmen found themselves with a 6-0 advantage.

  The defense was equally spectacular as on St. Joe's first offensive play from scrimmage Junior defensive back Brian Palsa stepped in front of a Michael Cvelbar pass taking it down to the Redmen 26 yardline. Five plays later it was Senior tailback Matt Lepley taking it in from 13 yards out. Lepley proceeded to take the handoff and dive over the goal line for the 2 point conversion making it 14-0 Redmen with 4:36 left in the opening quarter. The Vikings of St. Joe would then mount a long drive of their own taking the ball to the Redmen 21 yardline before Junior deep back Greg Keys intercepted another of Michael Cvelbar's passes inside the 10 yardline. Three plays later it was St. Joe sophomore standout David Lighty who picked off Journay giving the Vikings the ball just inside the Redmen 30 yardline. It was then four plays later that an apparent interception by Brian Palsa would be nullified by a pass interference call despite the pleading by the Redmen coaching staff that he was hit after the interception took place. The result being a 1st and goal at the Redmen 4 yardline. Once again though it was a stifling Redmen defense that arose to the challenge as Cody Koselke snagged another Cvelbar pass returning it to the Bellevue 15. The Redmen went three and out on the series but what proceeded drew ooh's and ah's from the Redmen crowd as punter Greg Keys booted the ball that sailed high through the air with tremendous hang time covering 36 yards. Vikings punt returner Anthony Ramos called for the fair catch but was overwhelmed by all the red and white jersey's that surrounded him causing him to cough up the ball which was recovered by Bellevue's Robbie Smith at the Viking 43. It didn't take long for the Redmen to strike again. On the sixth play of the drive Journay hit an open Koselke for a 26 yard scoring strike. The extra point was true and the Redmen lead grew to 21-0 with :30 seconds remaining in the first half. After the ensuing kickoff the Vikings had hoped to end the half without any further damage being inflicted but that's exactly what happened when St.Joe tailback Franklin Frazier coughed up the ball which was recovered Greg Keys who returned it 36 yards to the Viking 3 yardline. On 4th and goal at the one and one second on the clock Matt lepley dashed through the line for his second score of the game. The extra point failed but the Redmen had increased its lead to 27-0 as the players headed into the locker room at the half.

  For most of the third quarter it was a defensive battle with limited offense especially from the Vikings as Bellevue would yet again confuse the Viking signal caller when Junior Brian Palsa came up big, intercepting his second pass of the game ending a Viking scoring threat. The Redmen though could not take advantage of the turnover and was forced to punt from their own 48. On the Vikings first play it was again a stellar Redmen defense that looked to put the game away as Cody Koselke picked a Cvelbar pass and dashed down the right sideline for another Redmen score. The 2 point conversion failed and the lead grew to 33-0 in favor of the hosts. The highly regarded Vikings offense though would not be denied covering 59 yards in two plays for a scoring strike from Cvelbar to senior wideout Ed Subel. The 2 point conversion was good and the score stood at 33-8 with 6:58 remaining in the third. Ending the third quarter, Brian Palsa returned a St.Joe punt for 4 yards setting up 1 and 10 at the Viking 36. It took all of three plays for the brilliant Redmen offense to find the endzone again when Greg Keys darted 18 yards down the left sideline and spinning into the endzone for another Redmen score. The PAT was good and to the shock of a small St.Joe crowd the Redmen took a 40-8 commanding lead with 11:52 remaining in the game. What also needs to be mentioned is that many of Bellevue's second team defensive linemen played the majority of the second half and that many sophomores and all three freshmen on the varsity roster saw some nice action including freshmen signal caller Jeff DeBlase who came in with 9:45 remaining in the game. The offense for the Redmen did little the rest of the way while trying to run the clock and letting St.Joe focus on stopping the run. The Vikings starting offense would see the endzone twice against the Redmen reserves including a 80 yard scoring strike to David Lighty who was rated the number one freshmen in the state a year ago by Ohio Future Stars magazine and a 1 yard reception by Lighty with :16 seconds remaining in the game making the game appear much closer than it really was at 40-20. After a failed onside kick attempt quarterback Jeff DeBlase took a knee ending the ball game and sending whispers throughout the crowd about a tremendous Redmen performance. The Redmen handled the standout receiver and pass happy Viking offense with ease most of the night allowing only 53 yards receiving while the starting defensive unit was in the game. The win marked the 498 victory in he schools history and the Redmen will be looking for #499 on Friday August 29th in Ashland against the Ashland Arrows at 7:30pm.